The Ridge
by Steph Malfoy
Summary: [AU][TP sequel] Ty finds an abandoned colt in the Arizona desert and Amy offers to let it come to Heartland on one condition:Ty spends the summer at Heartland. REVIEW
1. 1: Prison

**Authors Note—**

I know I SAID that this wasn't going to up for awhile but… here it is! I know it's short but I'm on spring break so more of this story and others (I'm working on RS, WP and TUP currently) so more will come soon!

Oh. I'm changing ages AGAIN because it works better this way for the story. Ty: senior (in TP he was a junior) and Amy is a junior in this one. Sorry for the confusion but I won't change them again!! And I'm too lazy to see if I gave Brad's law firm a name in TP so it's getting one here.

Aaaaaaaaannnnndddd… this chapter is for Kels for being awesome… _al_right, and for agreeing to update Snapshot if I started the sequel… :) love ya!!

SO…. REVIEW!!

-Steph

**Disclaimer: **honestly, I didn't own TP. So put two and two together and I don't own the sequel either! If you want cold, hard proof that I don't own it though go read Beyond the Horizon… actually, save your time… read this instead! Just know I don't own the characters or whatever Lauren Brooke owns.

**THE RIDGE**

**Chapter 1: Prisoner**

_Wednesday, October 11, 2006_

"I don't know what to tell you anymore, Ty," Coach Andrews said with a shake of his balding head.

Ty stared at his coach from his careless position in the chair opposite the coach's desk in the back of the locker rooms. "Hmm," he said in a bored voice.

"The team really benefited from your leadership last season," Coach Andrews continued, "but you have not shown up for practice in the past two weeks. Your attendance has been spotty at the best all year. You've even missed a couple games. Ty, if you can't commit yourself to this team then I need to know now," the middle aged coach said seriously.

Ty blinked once and shook his hair out of his eyes. "Then count me off," he said in the same bored tone.

Coach Andrews sighed and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. "Are you sure this is what you want, Ty?"

"Yes."

Coach Andrews sighed again, his mind scrambling for something that would convince the boy in front of him to stay on the team. But one look at the bored look on Ty's face caused all such thoughts to vanish. "Alright," he said slowly. "I'm sorry it's has to come down to this, Ty."

"Uh huh."

"Well I suppose you can go then, Ty," Coach Andrews said rather sullenly.

Ty slowly got out of the chair and lazily began to walk to the door. Coach Andrews watched the retreating form of his previous quarterback and thought of one last thing that might convince Ty against the decision he had just made clear to the coach.

"Oh, Ty, hold on a moment."

Ty stopped and turned back around to look at Coach Andrews. "Yeah?"

"You know I'll have to be letting the recruitment offices at Arizona State know you're not playing anymore."

"Yeah," Ty said without a pause.

"You won't get the scholarship," Coach Andrews pointed out patiently.

"Yeah," Ty said again. 

"You have a great opportunity to go to a highly regarded school and to play college football on a very good team."

"Yeah."

Coach Andrews nodded, finally seeing that he wasn't getting through to Ty. "Well, I'm sorry, Ty."

"Yeah," Ty said once again, edging towards the door once more.

"Bye, Ty," Coach Andrews said.

"Yeah, bye," Ty said and this time he couldn't get out of the office fast enough.

**--**

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_Saturday, May 26, 2007_

Ty had had better days.

He should have been having a great day. He was eighteen which technically meant that he could do whatever he wanted since he was now an adult. Unfortunately, his parents seemed to have other ideas. Brad and Jane believed that while Ty still lived in their house that he would be treated like a child and not an adult. Perhaps if he had acted more like an adult, they had reasoned, they could treat him like one.

Ever since he had dropped off of the football team at Scottsdale Academy in the fall and the partial scholarship he'd had to attend ASU in the coming fall had fallen through, his parents had stuffed him into Brad's law firm everyday after school.

It was his ninth month on the job and he'd been ready to leave after the first hour. He wasn't into photocopying papers and running messages around from one side of the building to another like some of the other interns were. He wasn't even an intern. Ty liked to figure himself more as a prisoner. Though, he never did lose the joy he felt at tormenting the three nerdy interns that worked with him.

They made it seem as though hand carrying a note to a lawyer on the fifth floor was an honor equivalent with the same glory as carrying the Olympic Torch.

The interns were John, Mary and Katherine. He didn't quite know which one irritated him more. Was it John and his plastic pocket protector? Mary and her chewing gum? Or Katherine and her incessant hair flipping?

The phone on Ty's right rang and he fixed his emerald eyed glare on it. He let it ring three times (two more rings then it was supposed to have) before he answered it. "Baldwin and Schuller Law," he drawled out.

"Oh yes," an elderly woman's voice came through the receiver and Ty rolled his eyes and sighed as the woman paused too long. "Oh, is Margerie Holten in? This is Henri—"

"One moment," Ty interrupted the woman and pressed the button on the phone that would transfer the call before dropping the phone back on its cradle.

"That was very rude," Mary's snotty, know-it-all voice reached Ty's ears.

"I'll let you know when I care," he said with a concealed sigh. He ran a finger over the blade of a letter opener and contemplated how much damage it could do if it was—

"You shouldn't—" Mary started to continue but Ty stopped her, the letter opener held in his hand.

"Okay, look," he said, pointing the letter opener at Mary like a sword. "Apparently you haven't gotten it yet, but I don't want to be here. I have three weeks left till I'm out of here for_ever_ so could you do me the favor and not talk for that long?"

"These are your father's offices," Mary continued, her dull brown eyes wide.

"Fancy that," Ty snorted and threw the letter opener onto the table top.

"You should be honored to be here," John joined the conversation. John's nasally voice had Ty mentally hitting his head on the table in front of him.

"You three seem to cover that role sufficiently enough," he said.

"You know what your problem is, Ty?" Katherine and her psychologists' voice said next.

"Please, enlighten me," Ty swiveled around on his chair and fixed the girl with a glare.

"You have such a negative approach to everything," she said too calmly for Ty's liking.

"She's right," John said.

"Yes," Katherine continued. "If you would just be more open minded about the things around you and not take all of the opportunities you get for granted you could be—"

"You know," Ty interrupted her, his glare now fixed on John once again. He reached across the desk and picked up the letter opened again. He taped the weak blade against the wooden tabletop and seemed deep in though. "I wonder how far this," he held up the letter opener, "could be shoved up your stuck-up ass."

John looked shocked and, with a brightly flushed face, turned back to the notebook he had been writing in and started scribbling furiously in it. Ty chuckled at the reaction he'd gotten from John.

"You know, Ty," Mary said in what she hoped was a calmly indifferent voice, "it's no wonder you don't have a girlfriend."

"Wrong again," Ty grinned. "I do have a girlfriend, not that it's really any of your business."

"Latest fuck at a party?" Mary wrote something down on the work she had in front of her.

"And wrong again," Ty grinned wider.

"Am I?" Mary sounded doubtful but still didn't look up at Ty.

"Yes. Very."

"How long has this one been around?" John decided it was time to redeem himself. "A week? Less?"

Ty, getting tired of the conversation, glared at John once again and John, though slightly older than Ty, looked back down at his notebook. "Not that it's any of your concern, but about a year actually." Ty stood up and started towards the doors.

"Where are you going?" Mary's shrill voice quipped. "It's not time to leave for another two hours!"

"I have plans, something you three probably don't know the meaning of." With that, Ty left.

He did have plans and he didn't quite feel like canceling them. His parents would be after him later, he knew, but he didn't care. He'd just tell them exactly what they could do with their letter openers.

**a/n: **rather sucky but that's life. Sorry for the shortness but it IS just to introduce Ty again. Next chapter will have a more detailed and prepared version of the excerpt that was in TP. REVIEW!! -Steph


	2. 2: All Deal and No Blackmail

**Authors Note:**

Here we go… again. Ha-ha. This chapter will be short and simple—and quick to write—because it's just going to contain a bit more detailed version of the "sneak peak" included at the end of TP. I wasn't really happy with the first chapter but it WILL GET BETTER!! Happy reading!

Review!

-Steph

**Disclaimer: **nope, still don't own it.

**THE RIDGE**

**Chapter 2: All Deal and No Blackmail **

_Wednesday, October 11, 2006 _

Ty slammed on the breaks of the Jeep. Mick reached out a hand to brace himself against the dashboard so he wouldn't fly forwards from the suddenly harsh movement.

The locked wheels sent up a shower of red dust and gravel and Ty leaped out of the opened door. Mick followed after a moment, swatting the dust away from his face as he followed Ty to the side of the road.

"Ty, man," Mick said as he stomped forwards, "what the hell was that for?" he grumbled, less then thrilled about almost becoming road kill on a road where he probably wouldn't have been discovered for _ages_.

Ty ignored Mick and continued forwards, peering out into the bright sunlight. He squinted, through the bright lighting and the dust, straining to get a better look at what had captured his attention. Mick looked in the same direction but could not see what had Ty so captivated… if anything. He sighed but followed Ty all the same.

Ty was heading towards a group of large boulders and Mick could just see the form of a small, wooden structure and a fence behind the boulders. It was, really, remarkably less then spectacular, Mick could easily tell, and he wondered once again, with increasing impatience, just what they had stopped for.

Ty continued forwards purposefully.

He'd seen something that Mick hadn't.

Ty stopped in front of the wooden fence and looked around the small enclosure. There was a bit of hay in a corner, a wispy tree in the middle and a water trough that was mostly dried up by the gate. There was a small barn attached to the paddock and a small, rundown house nearby. There was nothing to indicate any sign of life nearby, the place had been abandoned several days ago, the garbage cans were overflowing with ripe garbage and emitting a scent that was less then appealing.

Ty leaped over the fence just as Mick came up behind him.

"What are you doing?" Mick called after Ty but, once again, Ty just ignored his friend. Mick, resigned to the fact that he was not going to be getting any clear answers out of Ty anytime soon, just leaned over the fence and watched.

Ty expertly made his way through the overgrown weeds and mounds of dirt to what had originally caught his eye. It was under the tree, he didn't know how he'd seen it but he had. It was a little colt, only a couple months old and curled up on the ground in the measly shade under the tree, its legs tucked underneath it and it's muzzle resting on the dirt.

Ty suddenly became unsure of himself but knelt down near the colts side.

He reached out a slow and tentative hand to brush the dusty blue roan coat of the colt. At first, his fingertips only grazed the colts weak coat but he slowly lowered his hand onto the little horses shoulder. The colts shoulder twitched and his ears flicked to the side. He lifted his small head up and his big, dark and innocent eyes opened and looked up at Ty.

Mick finally decided to join Ty and he peered over his should. "Ty, what are—" Mick stopped mid sentence as he looked down and saw the colt. "Oh."

Ty dug his phone out of his pocket and, through instinct, found the number he wanted in the phonebook and pressed send.

**----------**

"I'll get it!" Amy yelled out through the barns as the shrill ringing of the phone filtered out of the office. She jogged to the small office that was crammed with paper work, a desk and three chairs and dug under the piles of paper for the phone.

"Hello," she answered breathlessly once she'd found the phone, "this is Heartland, Amy Fleming speaking."

"Amy!" The voice started speaking before she was even done giving her routine answer. The voice surprised her even more.

"Ty?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"Oh, hey," she responded warmly, realizing that she hadn't talked to him in a few days. "What's up?" She smiled, expecting a nice, easy conversation.

"Listen," Ty began seriously and Amy frowned. "Do you have any stalls free?"

"Um…" Amy blinked in confusion. "What?"

"Stalls," Ty repeated. "Do you have any free?"

"I don't know—"

"Just answer," Ty said impatiently.

"Yes," Amy said slowly. "Ty, what's going on?"

"Look," he began, "I'm out in… well, that doesn't really matter, but I found this little abandoned farm and there's this little horse in one of the fields."

"You did?" Amy asked dubiously. Amy fingered a piece of paper hanging off the edge of the desk.

"Yes," Ty said. "What am I supposed to do? I can't just _leave_ him here."

Ty's voice, Amy thought, carried a bit of worry. Amy smiled despite herself, maybe the Ty she had once known wasn't as far lost as everyone believed it to be. Sometimes he acted like the same compassionate guy… but then, of course, she realized with a shrug, he went and pulled off some insane stunt.

"Okay," Amy said, her attitude turning into all business, "how is the colt? Is he conscious? Lying down? What's the condition of the field he's in?" She started rattling off the questions.

"He's awake," Ty began. "He's lying down but he's moved his head. The field has a little hay and some water but there's no shelter or much shade."

Amy's heart briefly warmed to hear Ty assessing the condition of the colt but then she turned back to business. "Alright," she said. "Do you have anyway to move him?"

"What?" Ty sounded surprised. "What am _I_ supposed to do? I don't have anywhere to keep him."

"Don't you know anyone with a stable you can keep him at until you figure something out? And it doesn't sound like he's in too bad shape but you'll want to get a vet out to see him and assess for dehydration or any other injuries."

"Can't I just send him out to you?"

"Ty," Amy said slowly, "I'm three thousand miles away."

"Yeah, I know. But you said you had stalls, right? And I'll arrange and pay for all the transportation and get a vet to look at him first," Ty bargained.

Amy was silent as she considered her possibilities.

"Come on, Amy," Ty began again. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do. And he's so small and I know you guys can deal with this kind of stuff at Heartland."

"Well…" Amy trailed off, lost in thought. "I'm not sure," she teased him.

"I'll beg," Ty grumbled into the phone. Amy could hear the unmistakable sound of Mick howling in laughter in the background and had to mask her own giggle, she could practically see Ty's scowl and narrowed eyes as she coughed a bit too loudly into the phone. Amy heard a shuffling on the other end and then a thump and a loud "ow". Amy could only imagine what Ty had found to throw at Mick. She lifted the phone away from her ear to let out her own snicker.

"Come on," Ty said into the phone. "Help me out here. I don't know what to do."

Amy thought for several seconds, weighing her options. Of course she was going to accept the colt, how couldn't she? But she'd caught Ty in the perfect position and was going to try her hand at some 'devious scheming'. "On one condition," she finally said, the perfect deal coming to her.

Ty was silent for a moment before he sighed and Amy could almost hear his own 'devious scheming' gears turning and contemplating his next words. "Name your terms."

Amy took a deep breath to draw out Ty's wait. "You come to Heartland for the summer," she finally said.

It was silent for a whole minute as Ty considered his options. He glanced down at the little horse lying on the ground, looking up at him with those big, dark eyes and groaned. "Deal."

Amy stayed on the phone for several minutes longer before she let Ty go to take care of the colt. Amy set the phone down with a smile, it had been way too long, but she'd be seeing Ty in a month. And he'd be staying at Heartland… only a few bedrooms down from hers. Yes, that was a _very_ pleasing thought indeed.

There was a creak of wood behind her and someone cleared their throat. Amy whipped around to see Jack looking at her with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Hi, grandpa!" Amy chirped, unsure of how much he had heard, and bounded over to him to give him a kiss on the cheek.

Jack cleared his throat again. "What was that I heard you on the phone about just now?"

Amy's smile wavered for a fraction of a second but it stayed strong. Jack wouldn't have any objections to the colt, she knew. Especially not after he knew that Ty was paying for everything and arranging transportation. And she knew that he would let Ty stay with them. After all, Ty had been part of the family for years. Sure, he was different now but he _was_ still Ty.

Amy quickly explained what was going on.

Jack looked at her with his blue eyes.

"Are you sure this is what you want, Amy?" he asked seriously.

Amy knew that he was talking about Ty and not the colt. "Of course it is, grandpa," she said firmly. "Maybe…" she began, taking a deep breath, "maybe, once Ty is here I mean, he'll… I don't know. Not change really, but just have more of a connection with his old self," she let her wildest hopes be known to her grandfather.

Jack put his hands on Amy's shoulders and looked down at his granddaughter. "Just don't get your hopes up too high, kiddo," he said affectionately.

"Thanks, grandpa," Amy said and gave him a hug.

"I'm going to go back up to the house to get dinner started," Jack said as he shuffled over to the door. "Come in soon, okay?"

"Yeah. I'm almost done down here anyway," Amy said. "I just want to give Sundance a good brushing off really fast."

Jack nodded. Before he was out of the room her turned back and looked at Amy with a twinkle in his eyes. "Where did you learn how to blackmail like that anyhow?"

Amy looked at him with a stunned expression. "What—what do you mean?" she asked innocently. "I did _not_ blackmail, Ty. We made a deal. They are two _totally_ different things."

**a/n: **well, there it is. I added an extra page. It will get better with the next chapter! TUP is up next. I know you guys already read this but leave a review anyway!! -Steph


	3. Of Colts and Girls

**A/n: In all fairness, the last two chapters SUCKED. ****But hey.****Whatever.**** That's just life sometimes. The story WILL GET BETTER. But this chapter may not be spectacular… but I HAD to write it. You'll see why. It was just too good of an idea to pass up. It was either this or in the CIC/BP series. And I figured that poor Ty has had enough airplane issues in that series. **

_**The Ridge**_

_**Chapter 3**__**: Of Colts and Girls**_

_Saturday, October 14, 2006_

_Heartland_

Amy leaned over the stall door and peered into it. Her eyes softened as she saw the little blue roan colt curled up in the mounds of straw and bedding. His head rested by his front hooves and his eyes were closed. His sides rose and feel gently with his breathing.

Amy scanned him for the hundredth time since he'd arrived an hour earlier. He was too skinny. She could count his ribs through his coat. The blue roan coat was dull even in the sun bathing him and his dark mane and tail matted. He couldn't be over two months old.

Amy's chest tightened as she watched the little colt sleep. How could someone abandon him?

She opened that half door quietly and slowly creped to his side. She kneeled down next to him and ran a hand over his thin coat. The colts shoulder twitched and his eyes flew open. He raised his head and looked at Amy. His big, dark eyes seemed defiant. Amy laughed and stroked his nose. The colt took a snap at her hand but missed.

"Hey there, little guy," Amy laughed gently.

Amy moved her fingers across the colt's nose in T-Touch. By the time she's reached his neck, he'd dropped his small head back into the hay.

After receiving the phone call from Ty earlier in the week, Amy hadn't been sure when the colt would arrive. She certainly hadn't expected it by the end of the week and was no short then amazed when Ty called her back the next day to announce the travel plans. She's waited all day for the little colt to arrive. She'd spent a good hour preparing the sunniest stall they had in the barns in just the right way and then had busied herself with yard work where she could easily keep an eye on the driveway. When she's seen the trailer bumping down the driveway she's thrown her rake away and ran to meet the truck.

The man driving the truck had been gruff and brandished the clipboard for Amy to sign before he would say anything to her anxious questions about the colt. She'd followed close behind him as he and his partner lowered the ramp none too gently.

The colt was smaller and weaker then she'd imagined but Amy's heart immediately went out to the little horse. As he was led out of the trailer, he was sluggish and his hooves dragged on the ground. His drooping ears barely flickered as Amy rushed to his side. His eyes were half shut and dull as she looked into them. Upon her questions, the man told her that the cross country journey had been hard on the "little thing" and that they'd had to give him something to keep him calm.

Now the colt was settled into his stall. The drug seemed to be wearing off as he dozed. Amy worked a piece of straw from his matted mane and resolved to give him a bath and a good grooming as soon as she was sure he was okay. Scott was coming by later to take a look at him; even though Ty had assured her numerous times that a vet had already taken care of him.

Amy stopped her T-Touch and sat in silence with the little colt for several minutes. She crossed her legs, put her elbows on her knees, her head in her hands and watched the colts every move.

"You need a name, don't you, guy?" Amy said suddenly. The colt barely moved at the sound of her voice. Amy shifted through the names in her mind but none of them seemed to him the magnificent little creature lying in front of her. Five minutes passed and Amy sighed with frustration. She reached out and stroked the colts back. "What should I call you?" she pondered aloud. "Something good…" she muttered. "You're such a dazzling little guy…" her hand stilled and she sat up straighter. A smile took over her face.

"I've got it," she cooed in the little colt's ear as she hugged his skinny neck. "I'll call you Dazzle.

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_Tuesday, June 5, 2007_

_Heartland_

At ten months old, Dazzle had grown from the tiny abandoned colt he's been found as to a strong, independent beautiful colt. He already stood at 14.2 hands high and showed no sign of stopping. His legs were long and slender and the muscles rippled through his haunches, neck and shoulders. His head was big and proud and his ear perked and alert at every little noise. His mane and tail were dark and silky and his blue roan coat gleamed in the afternoon sunlight.

_He's come so far_, Amy thought as she watched him prance around his separate pasture. His steps were high and he tossed his head. She smiled, always amused by his antics. He was so much like a little boy.

Dazzle froze and lifted his head into the wind. He whipped around in a small circle and caught sight of Amy watching him. He flung his head up and down, his mane blowing. He let out a squeal and galloped to the far side of the pasture, kicking up his heels in a series of small bucks as he left Amy with the same mystified expression she had every time he acted that way. _And then_, Amy thought, _he hasn't come far enough. _

The colt was strong willed and had an independent, spirited heart. From the moment he'd gotten his strength back as the abandoned two-year-old colt, he'd been nearly impossible to manage. He could be polite enough. He would stand for a grooming or a bath or to be taken from his stall to his paddock. But with each passing week it became harder to do just these simple things with Dazzle. Amy had taken to leaving him in his pasture all the time, as he seemed to think being caught was a game to be played.

_We should have given him a smaller field_, Amy thought ruefully. She looked around the pasture. It stretched to the edge of the woods and rolled over the hills. Dazzle had made it his home. And he would not let anyone take him out of it. It wasn't that he hated her, Amy knew, he was just proud. And as he got older, that pride grew.

Jack and Lou, and even Scott, had tried to convince Amy to sell him. Clearly Dazzle was not meant for this life. They were getting nowhere with him. Let some else try their hand at him. They'd tried everything they knew. But Amy wouldn't stand for it. If Dazzle was unmanageable at Heartland, his home, how would he be in a strange place? If she sold him once, he'd keep on being sold and eventually he would end up being sold for meat. No one wanted a horse they couldn't control.

So Dazzle would stay at Heartland. Amy wouldn't have it any other way. She's think of something to tame the high strung colt.

Amy sighed and climbed up over the fence to perch on top of it. Five minutes passed as she sat there, watching Dazzle roam through the grounds that he had long since memorized.

"Any luck today?" Joni asked. Amy turned around and looked over her shoulder to see the girl behind her, leaning on a pitch fork.

"No," Amy said, looking back towards Dazzle. Dazzle was watching them, not too pleased at there now being two. "I just don't understand what's wrong with him," she admitted.

Joni perched next to her on the fence.

"Maybe there isn't anything wrong with him. Some horses are just this way. It's just… _Dazzle_," Amy mused.

"Yeah, maybe," Joni agreed. "But he can't live in this pasture his whole life. He needs to be able to trust people."

Amy nodded. "It's not trust though," she argued. "It's just his will. He doesn't want to be tamed." Amy watched Dazzle squeal in their direction and give several wild bucks. He galloped down the hill towards them and slid to a stop in a cloud of dust several meters away. He squealed again, stretching out his long neck before cantering away again. Amy laughed tensely. "See? He's telling me he's protecting his freedom and that I should back off."

"He can't live this way, Amy," Joni said again.

"I know," Amy said defensively. "But he's still young. And he's definitely half Mustang. He just wants freedom, independence. But he's only ten months. It won't last forever. He's just like a teenager going through their rebellious stage. He'll settle down eventually."

Joni looked skeptical, not at all convinced. "Maybe you should consider selling him." Amy's head whipped around to look at Joni through narrowed eyes. Taken a back, Joni held up her hands and explained herself. "To someone that has a lot of land and a herd of horses that they let run free. It would be like the wild. Maybe that's what Dazzle needs."

"What stallion would accept a ten month old colt into their herd? That's like asking for trouble."

Joni was silent. Amy looked back a Dazzle, feeling smug that she'd managed to shoot down another argument for selling Dazzle for the time being. Joni left a minute later, mumbling something about finishing with the horses. Amy nodded and continued to watch Dazzle.

Dazzle wasn't going anywhere. She wouldn't let that happen. He was going to stay at Heartland. Ty was coming in a week and she wanted Dazzle to be here. But it was more than that. Dazzle seemed to be her biggest key to getting Ty back. The old Ty. The Ty that she missed every day. The Ty that she wished she could talk about the horses with. She loved the new Ty because he still was Ty. But sometimes it just wasn't the same. He'd cared enough about Dazzle to save him in the desert. Maybe he'd care enough to save him again.

Dazzle had worked his way into Amy's heart for more than one reason. She needed him to stay. He was the biggest hope she had left. If he left Heartland, her hope left with him. She needed him to stay. For her sake.

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_Thursday, June 14, 2007_

_Phoenix __Sky Harbor International Airport_

Ty sat uncomfortably on a cracked polyester chair in the terminal. He watched the flight board as his flight slowly ticked closer and closer to the top. Thirty minutes until boarding time. Ty watched amusedly as the passenger lounge filled up. Apparently a lot of people were hitting Virginia for an exciting summer.

The man sitting on the row of seats across from him looked at him and asked him the time. Ty stared at him for a moment before sweeping his thumbing across the face of his iPod so the sound turned up. He looked away and stared at the far wall.

His eyes fell on a girl. She looked his age, maybe a year younger. And she was looking at him too. She was tall and slim, curvy and busty. Her skin was tanned and her hair long and blond and shinning under the florescent lighting. She was wearing a tight white t-shirt, short shorts and heels. Ty frowned. Girls like that made his head hurt. Sure, she was hot but it still made his head hurt. Once he would have liked that girl but now… now she just made his head hurt.

She started to come towards him and Ty just watched with a calm expression on his face as he thought through the nearest escape routes. He frowned. Ty Baldwin didn't do _escape routes_. Once he would have like the blond girl. Once he would have been the one to go up to her. But now he was annoyed at the blond girl. And now he was planning escape routes.

He'd found something he liked better than those girls. But what was happening to Ty Baldwin?

"Now boarding Zone 2 of flight 1515 to Virginia."

Ty jumped out of his seat, grabbed his boarding pass out of his pocket and shoved through the mass of people to get to the door. Someone yelled behind him but he didn't care. He shoved his ticket at the flustered girl that was collecting them. She handed it back to him after scanning it and he stomped off down the tunnel.

Finally finding his seat towards the back of the plane, Ty kicked his bag under the seat in front of him and dropped into his seat—conveniently a window, if he was going to be traveling coach he wasn't being stuck in the middle of two strangers.

The loud steady beat of his music filled his senses and he stared out of the little oval window, watching the workers loading the luggage onto the plane. Ty was able to tune out everything going on around him until the air around him brought a cloud of perfume and something brushed his arm. He turned his head slowly and saw the blond girl sitting next to him. A smile tugged her lips up at the corners as she pulled a shiny fashion magazine out of her oversized purse. She shoved it into the pocket on the seat in front of her, but not before Ty caught the advertising for the '_Latest Sex Position_' blaring off the cover. Ty frowned and looked back out the window.

As the plane started to roll backwards, Ty shut off his iPod and pulled the headphones from his ears. He slowly wrapped them around the iPod. The blond girl took the opportunity to start up conversation.

"Hi," she said brightly, turning in her seat to face him. Her eyes were green, like a cats. Ty wasn't sure how they could stay open with that much makeup on them. His head felt foggy with the sent of her powerful perfume. "So are you going to Virginia too?"

"Yes," Ty answered tersely.

The blond girl was not dissuaded from his coldness. "Going home or just visiting?"

Ty debated the answers. "Just visiting," he settled on.

"Oh," the girl said. "Visiting family?"

Ty sighed. He hated people asking his questions. "My girlfriend," he said. The blond girl frowned. Ty smiled smugly within.

"Oh," the blond girl said. "That's nice." She was silent for a moment, rethinking her approach now that she knew Ty was not single and free for her taking. "I'm Ashley Grant, by the way," she said.

Ty stared at her. "Okay."

"And you are?" The blond girl, Ashley, pressed.

"Ty Baldwin," he finally said.

Ashley's eyes widened and her mouth formed an 'o'. "I know you!" she said excitedly.

Ty was taken aback. "No," he said, clearing his throat. "I'm pretty sure you don't."

"No," Ashley said with a waved of her manicured hand. "I definitely do. You used to live in Virginia right?" Ty nodded slowly. "And you worked at Heartland?" Ty nodded again. "Went to Jefferson, best friends with Amy Fleming," Ashley said.

"So what?" Ty said blankly.

"I used to go to school with you. I'm in _Amy's_ grade. You know," she said. "My family own Green Briar."

"Fascinating," Ty said disinterestedly. He chose to ignore the way she'd said Amy's name like it was a disease.

Ashley scrutinized him with her shard green eyes. "You're very different then I remember you being."

"So I've heard."

"So," Ashley continued, not swayed in the slightest by Ty's obvious disinterest in her and their conversation. "Who's your girlfriend? I may know her."

Ty looked at her for a long moment. The gleam in her eyes made something twinge in his chest. He'd make the answer good. Just to torment her. He already had the feeling that he hadn't much liked this girl in his younger years. She was hot, but exactly the type of girl that now annoyed Ty to no end.

"I think you do actually," Ty said with a grin. Ashley's face brightened. Ty was finally seeming to take an interest in her. "Amy Fleming."

To his chagrin, Ashley seemed to ignore the name he's given her. "Well then I guess you'll be at Heartland a lot. Green Briar's not too far away, you know," she said. "I think we'll be seeing a lot of each other."

"Really?" Ty said. "Because I'm really not thinking so."

Ashley's face fell and she scowled. She whipped out her magazine and turned to face forwards in her seat, crossing her long leg tightly over the other.

Ty grinned as he pulled his iPod back out.

There it was. The one piece of Ty Baldwin that he didn't feel like he was losing yet. And it was the one piece he was determined to keep. No matter what happened. No matter who.

**Uh-oh.**** Amy's convinced she can change Ty and Ty is quite determined not to be changed. ****D-R-A-M-A.**** Fun times ahead. And I couldn't figure out a name for Dazzle and then it hit me. This Dazzle will kind of be like Dazzle from the books. It's brilliant I tell ****you ::****evil laughter:: I know the chapter is short and not very good but hey, it's a chapter! Part II of ****The**** Charade is next so get ready for that one. And I am so very tempted to write a short Halloween thing. Come on. Who ISN'T interested in a haunted Heartland?**

**Lots of reviews make me happy so… review! Please? ****Pretty please?****With a cherry on top?**

**Aspires to be dictator of the world**

**Steph ****Malfoy**


	4. Homecoming

**Authors Note**

So while I have time to update every day, I'll just be writing where the inspiration hits. I'm trying to get a chapter of WP going but it's tricky. And I figured no one would be TOO disappointed with this one. And I'll do it just one more time: purdy please read and review my newest story Elysium :)

Steph

--

**THE RIDGE**

**Chapter 4: Homecoming **

_Thursday, June 14, 2007_

_Heartland_

Amy couldn't remember a time in her entire life when she had been so excited.

Ty was coming back to Heartland! After all those years, he was finally coming back home. He might not have remembered home, but Amy was determined to make him remember it. He would love Heartland just as much as the old Ty had loved it and by the end of the summer he wouldn't want to leave.

That morning during breakfast, no one else had quite shared Amy's level of enthusiasm over Ty's impending arrival, but Amy was far from deterred.

It had all all started when she had skidded around the corner into the kitchen on her socked feet, crashing right into grandpa. While Amy had apologized profusely with a gigantic smile still stretched across her face, Jack had frowned down at her with his hands on her shoulders.

"In a hurry, Ames?" he couldn't help but laugh as he watched his granddaughter practically bounce across the kitchen to the pot of fresh coffee on the counter.

"Oh, grandpa…" Amy sighed as she poured herself a mug of coffee. "Ty's coming this afternoon."

Jack could hear the smile in Amy's voice, though her back was still turned to him, but he couldn't help the frown that crossed over his face. The truth was, even though a part of him would always remember Ty as the boy that was as good as his grandson, he was still less than one hundred percent about the boy spending the summer with them. In the short few weeks they had been reacquainted during the spring, he had witnessed Ty get into more trouble than he ever had in the years he had known him before. He'd even managed to drag his bright, perfectly sane and sound in the head granddaughter into his schemes more than once! Jack was a little more than wary about what Ty would do to them all this summer, Amy especially.

"Yes," he said finally, as Amy turned back to face him. "So he is."

Amy noticed his frown. "Oh, grandpa!" she exclaimed. "Everything will be fine, you'll see."

Jack sighed and rubbed a weary hand over his weathered face. "I do hope so."

"Ty is still Ty you know," she said, setting her mug in the sink. "Just…" she paused thoughtfully and ran a finger along the cool tiles of the counter, "just a little different is all. Just try to give him a chance this summer. Please. For me?"

Jack sighed. "Of course I'll try." He never could deny her anything when she looked at him like that. "But that boy isn't who you remember him to be." Amy started to protest but Jack held up a hand to stop her. "I know you still like him, and that you've accepted him for who he is but… I just don't want 

you to have any false hopes about this summer. You just can't be to set on the idea that Heartland will bring back the Ty you lost."

"I _know _that, grandpa," Amy rolled her eyes playfully. "I'm just looking forwards to seeing him again. And yes, to having him around Heartland again," she admitted, "even if it isn't the same as it was before."

"I don't want to see you hurt when everything isn't back to the way it was."

"I'm not expecting that," Amy said quickly, glancing out the window quickly towards Dazzle. "I'm just expecting to spend time with Ty, and to show him something about his old life."

Jack looked out towards Dazzle too. The roan colt was grazing in the early morning sun, looking peaceful for once in his short life. But the young horse was a symbol of something much greater at Heartland. "You're playing with fire here, Amy, and you're not the only one that's going to get burned."

"No one's going to get burned, grandpa," Amy said, rolling her eyes at him once before grinning and bounding across the kitchen to lace up her boots.

"I hope you're right," Jack said with a sigh as he eased himself down into a chair at the table. He picked up the front section of the newspaper.

"So I'm going to do the normal routine this morning and then see if I can make any progress with Dazzle," Amy swiftly changed the topic of conversation and she stood up from the floor. "I'll pick Ty up from the airport at four, anyone that wants to come can but I was just planning on going alone."

Jack lowered the paper and appraised her briefly. "Alright. The horses should be expecting breakfast right about now," he said with a smile.

Amy left the farmhouse, her good mood barely touched. So no one else understood. They didn't have to. She was the one that would need to help Ty, and she understood him. She accepted who he had become and she loved him, she really did. But sometimes she needed to know what would have happened if the accident had never occurred.

Later that morning, Amy found herself perched on the fence of Dazzle's paddock. The ten month old colt avoided her at all costs and put on quite a show at staying as far away from her as possible. It was times like this when she knew she needed Ty to talk to. Ty was the only one she had ever been able to talk about the horses with. Tom and Joni were good but they didn't understand the horses on the same level that she did, or that Ty did.

Dazzle had been quiet for a good few minutes when a gentle breeze blew through the paddock, lifting Amy's hair. Dazzle caught her scent and threw his head up and squealed. He gave a half rear and took off once more. Amy sighed as she watched him canter back and forth along the far side of the paddock, this head angled over the fence towards the woods. She needed to do something about Dazzle. It broke her heart to see him acting like that all the time.

She stood up in determination; she had three months to get through to him. Which he— the man or the horse— she was talking about, she didn't know.

_Healing horses, healing hearts…_

Amy smiled as she repeated her mother's old saying in her head and she watched Dazzle's antics with a new eye.

--

--



Five and a half hours had never passed so slowly in Ty's entire life.

He may not have had the slightest idea who this Ashley girl was, but he would have sworn up and down that she was not Amy's best friend, as Ashley had earlier professed. In fact, he would have been blown away if they were even friendly acquaintances. If it wasn't the blond girl's racy magazine or provocative clothes and makeup, it was her incessant, mindless chatter that tipped Ty off to her lie. No _way _would the Amy he knew be able to stand this girl. He was about ready to smother her with her sex advice filled magazine—the same one she kept hitting him on the arm with as she talked—and he would have, if only that grandmotherly-like woman hadn't been sitting on her other side.

The real icing on the cake though was when his iPod lost all battery less than halfway through the flight. Now he couldn't even drown out her tittering voice with blaring music. He sat with the ear-buds in his ears for a while, staring out the small window, hoping that she's get the message and stop talking, but Ashley Grant had never been one to notice others. So after a while Ty wrenched the headphones out of his ears and shoved the traitorous piece of technology back into his bag.

"… so then Macy showed up at _my _Christmas ball wearing the same gown as me!" Ashley exclaimed. Ty could feel his eyes glazing over already. "Can you _believe_ that? Everyone was just simply scandalized and I… well _I _had gotten the dress first. I remembered telling her about it. And it was my party after all, so I marched over to her and I said—"

"Can I get you folks anything to drink?"

"Coke!" Ty nearly shouted the first beverage he could think of. What he really wanted was something high in alcohol but the coke would do. The flight attendant fixed their drinks and Ty gladly watched three minutes of the flight pass in peace.

"So where was I?" Ashley turned back to him as soon as the flight attendant had passed. She tilted her head to the side and taped the rim of her plastic glass of sparkling water. "Ah yes, Macy. So I—"

"So you said you live near Heartland?"

"Oh yes," Ashley said brightly, completely deterred from the Macy and the Dress Scandal, for which Ty was relieved. "I drive by Heartland and visit all the time." 

"Huh."

"It's a charming place, really. Nothing like Green Briar though… but you know all about that, of course." She patted his arm with her magazine and Ty wanted to throttle her once more. "I'm planning on having a small get-together later this week," Ashley said, twirling a lock or hair around her finger. "You know, kind of a welcome home for me," she flashed a smile and Ty frowned. This girl was just… he slumped forward; he didn't even know what she was. "You should come by."

"I don't think so," Ty said gruffly.

"Oh come one," Ashley pouted, this time laying her hand on his arm sans the magazine. "It would be a great way to meet some people… or, you know, re-meet some people," she tittered at her own joke.

"I'm pretty sure no," Ty said again.

"Oh don't be such a party pooper," Ashley leaned towards him batted her eyelashes. Ty gagged as she pressed her chest against his arm. His reaction made him from even more frustrated. He used to live for this… but not anymore. "You could spend some time with me..." Ashley said suggestively. He thought about Amy and shrugged Ashley off his arm.

"I'm pretty sure I'll have other plans."



Ashley was relentless. "You could bring Amy if you wanted to I suppose… one of our stable hands would be just darling for her!" she cooed. Ty's eyes narrowed dangerously and he stiffened as Ashley touched his arm again.

"No," he said firmly. "I actually think I'll be busy that day."

Ashley pouted again but Ty just stared at her. He would sooner slap her then give into that pathetic excuse for puppy dog eyes. "Well another time then."

"I'll be busy all summer."

At this Ashley laughed loudly. The elderly woman next to them glanced over at the sound. Ty looked at her briefly, hoping that she would notice his predicament but she just smiled at him and turned back to her magazine. Ty scowled at himself again, now he was trying to get other people to help him.

"You can't spend the whole summer at Heartland," Ashley's voice drew him back to the present.

"Why not?"

"Well," Ashley began, holding up her hand to tick off the reasons. "First, there's no one there. Second, there's nothing to do, you'll get dreadfully bored. All they do there is work with the horses—" here she threw in an eye role for added affect. "It's not exactly good living around there, if you know what I mean, and—"

"Well not that it's any of your business at all," Ty cut her off, his eyes flashing dangerously, "but I'm going to Virginia to visit Heartland so that is exactly where I will be spending my summer."

Ashley's eyes narrowed dangerously at the blatant rejection. No one rejected her. Especially not for that little farm girl Amy Fleming! Her mouth worked up and down furiously several times but she could think of nothing to say with Ty staring her down like that. She crossed her arms tightly over her chest and leaned heavily back against the seat. She stared forwards at the back of the seat in front of her.

Ty, on the other hand, just smiled. So she had finally shut up. He relished in the silence for as long as it would last.

A while later, while Ty had his head against the window and his eyes closed, Ashley chanced a look over at him. Her eyebrows furrowed together in the middle. Sure he looked like she imagined he would, but that man sitting next to her was nothing at all like the Ty that used to practically live at Heartland. She sighed and turned away from him. But then she stopped and looked back him, her lips twisting up. He was too good looking for Amy, and no one rejected Ashley. She'd make sure she showed Ty a fun time while he was in Virginia.

--

--

By the time she got to the airport, Amy's happiness was still present in full force. Just now she was nervous too. The combination of both intense emotions was making her bounce up and down on the balls of her feet as she waited just outside of the security gates amidst a crowd of people. She kept smoothing her fingers over her hair, making sure it was all in place and checking her outfit in the reflection of the shop windows. She had showered and changed before she'd left to make sure she didn't smell like the barn. She had put on a cute pair of dark denim shorts, a white lacy tank and a black, short sleeve zip up hoodie over top. She thought the outfit was cute and summery, and Soraya had _promised _that the shorts showed of her long, tan legs.

Amy checked the time on her cell phone: 4:15. Ty's plane was meant to get in at four, and the monitor that she was keeping close tabs on said the plane had landed… but she still didn't see Ty.



Amy bounced up and down some more. She stood on her tiptoes to peer into the terminal but there was no sign of Ty. She looked around at the people waiting with her and caught the eye of a young mother holding a baby to her chest. Amy smiled at the woman before looking forwards again.

Amy had been so busy simultaneously concentrating on the flight monitor, the clock of her cell phone, and scanning the crowd for Ty—all so that she _wouldn't _miss him— that she had managed to miss him completely. Ty, however, had not missed her. He smiled as he saw her busily checking the various screens displayed before her and fiddling with her phone, obviously debating whether or not to call him.

Her lack of attention made it all very easy for Ty to sneak up on her, slip his arms around her waist and hoist her off the ground.

On her end of this whole scheme, Amy shrieked when she found herself suddenly lifted off the ground by someone she could not see. She gripped her attacker's hands. When her attacker laughed in her ear her breathing practically stopped. She would know that laugh anywhere. She managed to get her feet back on the ground and, though her mysterious 'attacker' did not let her out of his arms, she managed to turn around to face him. The smiling face that met her was the one she had been waiting months to see.

"Ty!" she yelped and threw her arms around his neck, practically toppling him over to the floor.

Ty laughed again, but held her tighter against him, tucking his head into her shoulder. "It's good to see you too."

Amy pulled back from him just slightly and looked at him for a moment, hardly believing that he was really standing right in front of her. Then she stood up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his. Ty's response was exactly as she had hoped it would be but Amy pulled away quickly—they _were_ in an airport after all!

"_Now _it's good to see you," she joked and leaned her head against his shoulder.

Ty had one hand on her lower back and the other rubbed over her shoulders. He didn't care that they were standing in the middle of a crowded airport, or that other people were being reunited and parting ways all around them. He didn't care that he'd never acted this way with a girl before. This just felt _right_.

He leaned his head down towards Amy ear and whispered, "I really like those shorts, by the way."

Without lifting her head—she needed to hide her blush—Amy smacked his arm. Ty snickered. Amy sighed happily after a moment. "I was hoping you would."

"I don't think it would be possible…" Ty trailed off, something in the crowd having caught his eye.

Amy lifted her head and looked at him curiously. "Ty? What's the matter?" He had the strangest look on his face.

Ty snapped his head back down to look at her. "We need to go. Now." He grabbed her hand and tried to drag her away.

Amy followed after him slowly. "Wait… what? Ty! What's going on?" she demanded.

Ty turned his head around and he had a hard look in his emerald eyes. "Just trust me. You do not want to—"

"Oh Ty! Amy!" the high pitched voice was easily heard over the din of the terminal. Ty tried to keep dragging Amy towards baggage claim but Amy made the fatal mistake of turning to see who had yelled her name. She had enough to time to see Ashley Grant running—as best she could in heels—and waving furiously, in their direction.

Amy looked up at Ty and was surprised to see that Ty was looking at her with a grim expression. Did he… no. It wasn't possible that he remembered _Ashley Grant_ out of all things! Was it?

"Oh I am just so glad I caught up with you!" Ashley cooed once she was in front of them.

"Fortunate," Ty grumbled under his breath. Amy heard it and looked up at him. Ty was scowling darkly at the far wall. He looked like he would murder a puppy if he saw one. What was she missing?

"Hello, Ashley," Amy said, trying to be pleasant.

"Oh, hello there, Amy," Ashley said, remembering that Amy was there. She spared her a quick glance. Ty stepped closer to Amy and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to his side. Ashley hardly seemed to notice the gesture, and if she did she just didn't acknowledge it. "I just wanted to know if you had thought about that invitation anymore, Ty," Ashley said brightly, batting her eyelashes.

"No. I'm still going to be otherwise occupied."

"Oh, sorry, have you met Ty, Ashley?" Amy cut in curiously. She looked back and forth between the two, trying to take Ashley's cheery face and Ty's murderous one in stride.

Ashley turned her smile on Amy, though it was a good deal less friendly now. "Oh yes. We were seat buddies on the flight, chatted the whole way! I invited Ty here to a little party I'm having later in the week, but he seems to feel obligated to stick around Heartland." Ashley shrugged, making it apparent that she obviously found the notion of this completely ridiculous. "Shame really. I'll send you an invite for the next party though. I'll expect to see you there, even if I have to come and get you myself!"

Ty was silent, but Amy felt his hand tighten on her hip.

"That's, um… nice of you, Ashley," Amy said slowly.

"Maybe you could talk some sense into him, yeah?" Ashley suggested, leaning closer to Amy. Amy raised an eyebrow. "You know, use your femin—"

"I already told you _no_ twice," Ty finally snapped. "How many times do you need to hear it?"

Ashley seemed unaffected by Ty's anger. Amy took Ty's other hand in her own and threaded her fingers through his. She rubbed her thumb in circles over his hand, hoping to calm him down just a little.

"You don't know what you'll be missing," Ashley said coyly, striking a pose: stuck out chest, head held high, jutted out hip, outstretched leg.

"I have standards for the parties I go to," Ty said calmly, "and I can already see that you will not be meeting them." Ashley's pose dropped and she stared up at Ty. "Now," he said, taking a step back and pulling Amy along with him, "I have to go. Never bother me or my _girlfriend _again."

Amy and Ty walked away from the scene in silence. So many things were running through Amy's head, but she couldn't put any of them into a coherent sentence. _What _had just happened?

"Please tell me you're not actually friends with that girl," Ty finally said.

"God no," Amy said, shivering at the mere thought.

"Good. I didn't think so, but as soon as I told her my name she said she was your best friend."

"Ah… so you were really seat buddies then?" Amy asked innocently.



They stepped onto the moving sidewalk and stood in the 'no walking' lane. Amy leaned back against the rail and looked up at Ty. "That was the longest five hours of my _life_," he finally said. "My iPod died halfway through the flight and that girl does not know how to take a hint…"

Amy stared up at him for a moment. The look on his face was priceless as he remembered his cross-country flight. It was caught somewhere between horror, repulsion and utter denial. Amy couldn't help it: a little laugh escaped her lips. Ty's eyes snapped to her face and she instantly became the picture of innocence. They stared at each other for several moments before Amy couldn't help it anymore. She brought her hand up to her lips but the giggles still escaped.

"It wasn't funny," Ty huffed.

"I'm sorry," Amy said through her laughter. "I feel bad, honest I do—"

"You should, that girl is an absolute horror," he grumbled.

"—but it was just the expression on your face. And she said _seat buddies_!" Amy could hardly get it out through her laughter. "How often do you hear that?"

"It's almost as bad as the fact that I had the window seat," Ty said without thinking. Amy was able to laugh about that the rest of the way down to baggage claim. Although Ty hated being laughed at, by the time they were standing in front of his flights carousel, even he was chuckling a bit. But he was laughing at Amy's hysterics.

Eventually Amy quieted down. "Sorry," she said, smiling up at Ty and taking a deep breath.

Without saying anything, Ty put his arms around her and pulled her into him. Amy wrapped her arms around his back and tucked her head under his chin. As she breathed him in, she had never felt so complete.

"Can you promise me something?" Ty said quietly.

"Mmmm." She loved how she could feel his heart beating, could feel him breathing, could feel his voice in his chest when he talked, could feel his chin move against her head when he talked. She never wanted to move.

"Let's not talk about Ashley Grant anymore," he said. "I came here to see you, and quite frankly, I've had more than enough of her in the last five hours to last a life time."

Amy lifted her head her head and smiled up at him. "I'd like that," she said warmly. She kissed him quickly but again pulled away before he respond the way he wanted to.

Ty groaned and leaned his forehead against hers. "I am going to be so glad to get out of this airport," he said in a low voice.

Amy giggled. "You know my grandfather is at home…"

"I have ways," he said. "I'll kidnap you if that is how I have to be alone with you."

"Oh, you are _so _lucky my father isn't here," Amy laughed at him.

Ty smiled down at her and pulled her back into his chest. "I don't know about that," he contradicted. "I've got the girl… what can he do to me now?"

Amy looked about and their eyes met. They laughed together at the ridiculousness of their situation and the ridiculousness of how it had been before. One thing was for sure, they both knew, it was going to be quite a summer.

**a/n:** sorry it's a little late! I hope the chapter makes up for it. It's my favorite so far from this story. It was supposed to go into them getting back to Heartland but it went long enough and I just want to post, so that will be another chapter. And this chapter had the happy tone so… it works out I guess. REVIEW!! -Steph


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